Three Fishers -
Words: Charles Kingsley,
Music: John Hullah
Sung by Stewart Hendrickson
Three fishers went sailing out into the west,
Out into the west as the sun went down;
Each tho’t on the woman who loved him the best,
And the children stood watching them out of the town;
For men must work, and women must weep,
And there’s little to earn, and many to keep;
Tho’ the harbor bar be moaning.
Three wives sat up in the light-house tow’r,
And they trimmed the lamps as the sun went down;
They looked at the squall and they looked at the show’r,
And the night rack came rolling up, ragged and brown;
But men must work, and women must weep,
Tho’ storms be sudden and waters deep;
And the harbor bar be moaning.
Three corpses lay out on the shining sands,
In the morning gleam, as the tide went down;
And the women are weeping and wringing their hands,
For those who will never come back to the town;
For men must work, and women must weep,
And the sooner it’s over, the sooner to sleep;
And good-bye to the bar and its moaning.
This poem was written in 1858 by English author and clergyman Charles Kingsley (1819-1875). It was set to music by John Hullah. John Hullah (1812-1884) was Professor of vocal music at both Kings' and Queens' College London.